Cash Being Raised for Victoria Franchise

SPORTS SLANTS
By SID THOMAS
[Victoria Colonist, Aug. 23, 1946]
MONEY AVAILABLE HERE FOR PROFESSIONAL BALL
First important step towards the return of professional baseball to this city, that of putting up the required cash, has been taken by interested businessmen, according to the latest reports reaching this department.
From a very reliable source, this scribbler learned yesterday that approximately $50,000—that’s a lot of money—is ready to be laid on the line to guarantee the financing of the Victoria project.
Bob Brown, Vancouver baseball impresario, on his visit here a few weeks ago, told this scribbler that Victoria would have to be prepared to lay $25,000 on the line at the Western International Baseball League meeting next month, in making its application for a franchise.
With the finances available, Victoria’s representatives will attend the reorganization session slated for Tacoma, September 9, with Roger [sic] Abel, president, in the chair. Present plans call for a six-team circuit, an according to all reports Victoria has the inside track on some of the other cities seeking a franchise.
Such a move is understandable when careful consideration and study is given to [unreadable few words] the diamond pastime here in recent years. The Victoria Baseball Association teams played to 100,000 in 1944, and that number, according to Bob Brown, is large enough to support a professional baseball club.
No announcement has been made locally on the player situation, but again Bob Brown insisted that a tie-up with a Pacific Coast league or a major league club would be necessary for Victoria to field a team of the calibre required in the Western International Baseball League.
However, there should be a definite improvement in the player situation now that the war is ended. Many fine ball players are being discharged daily from the United States and Canadian armed forces and with new players coming along there should be no difficulty in securing player material.
Pleasing to most Victorians, we think, will be the announcement that the local entry in the Western International Baseball League will be financed by Victoria businessmen. Victorians have built up their own baseball and when a new venture is planned it certainly is encouraging to see those who live in the city getting behind the project with the required financial assistance.